Third-party applications, as referred to herein, are software components designed to extend the functionality of software applications being used by a user. In many cases, third-party applications are published or otherwise made available through an app store or some other online distribution platform. Users connected to the online distribution platform may search for third-party applications of interest. If a user finds a particular third-party application, then the user may initiate a transaction with the online distribution platform to download and integrate the application with another compatible software application.
Online distribution platforms such as app stores facilitate the connection between third-party developers and end users. Third-party developers are able to publish plugins, add-ons, and other extensions to enable end users to search for and add new features to software systems from different providers. However, end users generally need to be proactive about finding third-party applications of interest. If an additional feature is desired, the end user typically must connect to the online distribution channel through a browser or separate application. Once connected, the user may be required to search for third-party applications from a cluttered list of applications, which is time-consuming and cumbersome. In other cases, end users of a software system may not even be aware of existing third-party applications that are compatible. The end users may thus fail to take advantage of third-party applications that optimize performance of the software system.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.